An artist’s rendering of IAI’s Wind Demon missile, unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show on July 23, 2024. (IAI)
FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW — Israel Aerospace Industries announced today a new air-to-surface cruise missile dubbed Wind Demon, what the company says is a lightweight, reasonably priced munition.
“We see a growing market demand for effective and affordable systems that will offer attacks in mass,” said Guy Bar Lev, executive vice-president and general manager of IAI’s Systems Missiles and Space Group.
The weapon is “a new generation of air-to-surface cruise missile, combining new capabilities based on years of experience in missiles and loitering munition development,” he said.
FULL COVERAGE: Farnborough Air Show 2024
Unveiling the new missile, IAI pitched it as an “accurate response to the changing nature of warfare where affordability is a key factor.” Bar Lev did not specify the unit cost, though large cruise missiles such as the Storm Shadow or Tomahawk can cost more than $1 million.
Weighing 140 kilograms (308 pounds) and with a range of over 200 kilometers (124 miles), IAI says the missile can be launched from various aerial platforms such as helicopters or warplanes. The system includes laser-homing seekers and electro-optics for day or night operations. It also has automatic target recognition built in.
IAI also said that the system includes “enhanced connectivity features [that] enable real-time video transmission, person-in-the-loop control, and low altitude hold throughout the mission. Additionally, its selectable fast/slow/fast speed profile allows for high-speed reactions and selective slow velocity approaches at points of interest.”
IAI said the munition’s warhead, “which exceeds” 20 kilograms or 44 pounds, “is adaptable for blast, fragmentation, and penetration effects.”
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The missile is smaller than other well-known Israeli armaments such as the Popeye and the Gabriel family of systems, as well as the more recently introduced Sea Breaker.
In addition to its purported affordability, IAI also referenced the ability to use the missile in large numbers, noting it “offers a pragmatic response to the changing nature of warfare where affordable mass can deliver lethality.” A brochure for the system showed it aiming at targets such as air defense systems and radars. These include moving targets as well.
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have illustrated the need for countries to have large amounts of various munitions, but also highlighted the high pricetag that can come with such acquisitions. The cost disparity has been especially stark in the area of counter-unmanned aerial systems, where some militaries are using high-end missiles to knock out cheaply made drones — though the Wind Demon is designed to hit targets on the ground in numbers, potentially flipping the script on affordable mass munitions.
